John Laws always knew how to hold an audience in his hand

John Laws was first and foremost an artist, and a very talented one at that.

In 2012, Laws, who died at the weekend aged 90, agreed to join me on the ABC’s 7.30 program to discuss outrageous comments made by another powerful radio commentator, Alan Jones, about then-prime minister Julia Gillard.

During the second half of the 1980s, the 1990s and most of the first decade of the 2000s Alan Jones and John Laws were the dual titans of AM talkback radio in Australia.

There was much rivalry between them and little love lost.

When Jones became embroiled in a national scandal after saying at a Young Liberals dinner that John Gillard was “dying of shame” over his daughter’s “lies”, Laws was happy to comment.

Laws agreed to the interview but did not want to come to the studio and instead asked us to send a camera to his rooftop at Sydney’s Woolloomooloo pier.

At that time, technology was not as advanced as it is now, and under the circumstances, we opted to pre-record the interview and switch it back to the live program in case the line went dead.

I entered the studio about an hour before broadcast time and saw the broadcast from Laws’ apartment on the screen in front of me.

The sight of the then 77-year-old was instantly entertaining before he even uttered a word.

She was sitting inside, but she was wearing sunglasses and a scarf around her neck.

He was twirling a glass filled with generous amounts of bourbon and cola in his right hand.

From the window behind him, a huge naval ship docked at the Garden Island military base was visible.

“Please God,” I thought to myself as I waited to roll over, “Don’t let the camera ask him to stop drinking or take off his glasses.”

The universe answered my prayer and Laws remained as he was.

‘Did you have fun?’

We started our interview by asking Laws about Jones’ words.

Laws began speaking, then removed his sunglasses with a flourish and denounced the remark as careless, rash and cruel.

He was surprisingly kind to his former 2UE stablemate and rival, but essentially he was saying we all make mistakes.

Laws was perhaps cautious, given that he was no stranger to national embarrassment himself.

In 2004, he was caught up in a “cash for reviews” scandal when it was revealed that he was giving away products and services for a fee and passing it off as his personal opinion without disclosing the commissions he received.

At 7.30pm in 2012, Laws stepped up with his usual flair and confidence and then, as I wrapped up, delivered probably the most memorable and entertaining ending of any interview I’ve ever done.

“John Laws, thank you so much for taking the time to talk to us tonight,” I said.

“Did you have fun?” The laws answered.

“I enjoyed it, did you too?”

Laws chuckled happily.

“Yes, I loved every minute,” he said.

This interview went so viral that people still mention it to me every now and then. The week it was published, strangers were constantly coming up to me and laughing about it every time I left the house.

I was meeting friends for a drink on Friday night and the bartender unexpectedly offered me a cocktail and said: “I made this special for you, I call it the John Laws Special.” He made something bourbon based.

I’m sure some ABC viewers thought it was crazy that Laws showed up at 7:30 and flirted with me while sipping Wild Turkey. Crazy as a fox if you ask me!

Laws knew how to hold an audience

Why did the interview make such a splash? Because Laws was wildly entertaining. That’s why he was on Australian radio for nearly 70 years and why no other Australian broadcaster has come close to his longevity or success.

So he was paid a fortune and was even outfitted with a microphone made of gold by his network.

Whether you loved him or hated him, he unquestionably knew how to make an engaging broadcast and capture the attention of a loyal audience.

I used to listen to his interviews with prime ministers such as John Howard and Paul Keating when I was a young reporter. He spoke to the top names the same way he spoke when they were looking for an audience.

Laws was amazed at the attention his 7.30 performance brought to him. Afterwards, if I had an ABC project or a book to promote, he always warmly invited me to the radio show he hosted. And he always ended our encounters by asking if he was okay with me.